After a car accident, you may experience pain due to an area. While you may not feel any pain right away due to the initial shock, pain can manifest when this shock wears off. When you file a car accident claim against the driver who caused the accident, pain, and suffering can be part of your claim. While economic damages such as medical bills, property damage, and lost income have a specific dollar value, non-economic damages like pain and suffering do not. Because of this complexity, you want an attorney from the Law Office of Brian P. Azemika to handle your claim. Your attorney will make sure you get maximum compensation for all your losses.
Calculating Pain and Suffering
When your attorney calculates your pain and suffering damages they will consider the kind of injury you have suffered and its effect on your life. If you sustain a broken bone, you experience pain the moment you get injured. You may need to endure this pain until your injury heals. Meanwhile, if you sustain a neck or back injury, you may need to deal with lingering pain for many years after the crash, depending on the seriousness of your injury.
Moreover, the effect of a broken bone on your life is often short-lived. But a traumatic brain injury can result in you dealing with long-lasting pain. Your attorney will consider this factor when determining an amount of compensation that they may demand as part of your settlement. The longer your pain lasts, the higher compensation you may be able to recover for this damage. Also, keep in mind that your attorney will not only think about your physical pain but also your emotional pain.
Proving Pain and Suffering
To strengthen your claim for pain and suffering, you will need to collect the following:
- Medical documentation. Your medical records contain information on your physical limitations set by your doctor as you recover from your injury. Also, they can help when you require mental health care after a crash. Your records will show the kind and severity of physical, emotional, and mental pain you have to go through because of your injury.
- Witness statements. Your family members and friends can give testimony about your pain and suffering. For instance, they can offer statements regarding your daily struggles because of your inability to take care of yourself, drive, or take part in social activities.
- Diary. Maintaining a diary that tracks your emotional and physical condition after a crash can help with your pain and suffering claim.
- Expert witness testimony. Your lawyer may seek assistance from experts to determine your pain and suffering. These experts depend on the kind of injury you have sustained.
